Let’s face it – women have a complicated relationship with money. Women love it (who doesn’t?), but too often it’s unrequited. From the gender pay gap to the amount of super women have, women are struggling to fight for financial equality. This is where the free online program, Ladies Talk Money comes in.
Launched on Thursday 13 February 2020, Ladies Talk Money is the brainchild of Jessica Brady (Financial Adviser and Co-Founder of Fox & Hare) and Chandel Brandimarti (Pure Finance) who are on a mission to disrupt the financial sector from within.
A collaboration between two unapologetic and badass women, Ladies Talk Money tackles the complicated relationship between women, their finances and the barriers that are keeping them from achieving true financial equality. It is a place for women to connect, converse and take control of their finances. These women are having open, honest and necessary discussions about money and sharing their financial wisdom, one conversation at a time.
This women-led finance initiative challenges the harmful gender stereotypes that decades of social conditioning has perpetuated, that the nuances of financial equality – earning, investing and mastering is not a priority for women. It comes in response to long-held frustrations about the industry’s inability to have the hard conversations around systemic inequality and work towards meaningful change.
It’s also very timely as it comes in response to the recent Royal Commission into Banking and Financial Services, helping to give women the skills, tools and knowledge they are calling out for to create long-lasting, secure financial futures.
“The recent Royal Commission into Banking and Financial Services revealed devastating stories of clients being misinformed and misled for the sake of self-interest. Our industry needs to change,” Jessica says.
“More than ever, we all need strong financial literacy skills to help us understand our own circumstances, especially women who have been kept out of the conversation for too long. We want to give women the information, tools and expertise they need to feel confident and empowered to create long lasting, secure financial futures.”
Smashing stigmas and conversations free of financial jargons (EBITDA, GAAP, EPS – what do these even mean??), Ladies Talk Money believes that open dialogue is the first step to financial freedom, empowerment, and the change that the world needs. Directly tackling important issues such as the gender pay gap, unpaid work and the investment gap, as well as that taboo of why women still aren’t comfortable talking about money.
Ladies Talk Money is open to all women, everywhere. Jessica and Chandel want to include everyone in the conversation, including people of colour, low-income earners, same-sex attracted people and people with a disability in this conversation about the barriers keeping women from achieving true financial equality, offering a platform to normalise and support women to have real conversations about money and their finances.
Across eight parts, Ladies Talk Money will offer deep-dive videos and in-depth downloadable guides about key topics including everything from unpaid work to superannuation. There will also be supporting content including blogs, interviews and regular email newsletters.
Part one of the series (launched last week!) is a much-needed discussion about the shame and fear that exists for women talking about money. As for the cost, the platform is free (and always will be!) to access, in-line with the project’s overarching mission to invite everyone to join these much-needed conversations.
P.S. Watch this space for a potential collaboration between YWCA and Ladies Talk Money!
